浅论中学英语教学中的跨文化意识培养

浅论中学英语教学中的跨文化意识培养

［Abstract］Withthedevelopmentofglobalization，China’sentryintoWTOandthecomingOlympicGamesin2008,internationalcontactshavebecomemoreandmorefrequent.Thesocietyisingreatneedofpersonnelwhohaveagoodcommandofknowledgeandareabletocommunicatewithpeoplefromdifferentcountries.HowtomakeEnglishteachingmeettheneedsofsocialandeconomicdevelopmenthasbecomeanurgenttasktoEnglishteachers.Therefore,developingstudents’interculturalcommunicativecompetencehasbeenpaidmoreattentiontoinEnglishteaching.Nowadays,ithasbeenprescribedintotheNewEnglishCurriculumStandards.Obviously,MiddleSchoolEnglishteachersarefacingthechallengeofexploringappropriatemeansofcultureinstructionintheirteachingcontents.However,becauseofthetestingsystem,teachers’academicproficiency,students’attitudeandsoon,cultureintroductionhasbeenignoredinmiddleschoolandstudents’interculturalcompetenceispoorlydeveloped.Sincelanguageandcultureareinseparable，onecannotmasterthespiritofaforeignlanguagewithoutknowingitsculture.CultureteachingshouldbegivenprioritytoinEnglishteaching.InthehopeofimprovingcultureteachinginmiddleschoolEnglishclasses,practicalprinciplesandeffectivetechniquesaresuggested.Thisarticleproceedswiththeunderstandingofculture,analysesthedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesterncultures,discusseshowtohelpstudentstolearnculturedifferencesatthebeginningofEnglishlearningandhowtorelateChineseandWesternculturedifferenceswithlanguagedifferencessoastodevelopstudents’culturalsensitivityandtheirabilitiestousevariouswaysofcommunicationflexibly,soastoenablestudentstocarryoutinterculturalcommunicationwithEnglish.

［KeyWords］middleschoolEnglishteaching;interculturalawareness;interculturalcommunication;differencesinlanguagesandcultures

【摘要】随着全球化的发展，中国进入ＷＴＯ，２００８年北京奥运会的临近，国际间的交流越来越频繁。社会迫切需要具有跨文化交际能力的全面外交人才。如何使英语教学迎合社会经济发展的需求，如何提高学生的跨文化交际能力是对英语教师和目前英语教学的提出的新要求。中学作为英语教学的基础阶段，由于注重学生跨文化意识的培养，新课程标准已经把这部分作为重要内容。中学英语教师面临着文化与英语语言知识教学的新挑战，然而由于我们的测试系统，教师的学术水平及学生的学习方式等问题，中学的文化教学依然很薄弱，学生的跨文化交际能力低下。语言与文化密不可分，不了解英语文化也就不能真正掌握这门语言。文化教学必须在中学英语教学中上升到一定高度。本文从文化的认识入手,分析了中西文化差异,探讨在初中英语教学中如何帮助学生学会透过文化差异现象看本质,如何把中西文化差异和语言差异有机结合起来。培养学生的跨文化意识，增强学生的文化敏感性和灵活运用各种交际手段的能力,从而使学生成功地用英语进行跨文化交际。

【关键词】中学英语教学；跨文化意识；跨文化交际；文化语言差异

1．Introduction

ProfessorDengYanchangoncesaid，“LearningaforeignLanguagewelldoesnotsimplymeanmasteringitspronunciation，grammarandvocabulary.Infact，thelearningofaLanguageisinseparablefromthelearningofitsculture.”〔1〕Thefundamentalfunctionoflanguageistocommunicate.AsuccessfulEnglishteachingistohelplanguagelearnerscultivateagoodcommunicativeability.ButnowadayswealsocanseethataftermanyyearsofEnglishstudy,studentsstillfinditdifficulttocommunicatewithnativeEnglishspeakers.Thereasonisthattheylacktheknowledgeofwesternculture.Therefore,Englishteachersarefacingoneproblem:furnishingstudentswiththeknowledgeofculturebackgroundandimprovingtheirinterculturalcommunicativecompetenceinEnglishteaching.Thenculturalawarenessindicatesthatforeignlanguagelearnershaveagoodcommandofculturalknowledgeofthetargetlanguage,astrongcompetenceofadjustmentandcommunication.Inaddition,theycanthinkandreactinthewaysasnativespeakersofthatdimensionsofculture.Itisdifficulttocultivateandenhancelearners’culturalawarenessalthoughtheyhavewellrealizedtheexistingdifferencesbecausetheyoftenunconsciouslyattempttosuperimposetheirnativecultureontothetargetlanguage,whichgreatlyhindersaneffectiveinterculturalcommunication.［2］

2.ThenecessityofinterculturalawarenesscultivationinmiddleschoolEnglishteaching

requirementofsyllabus

“Languageissystemofarbitrary,vocalsymbolsbymeansofwhichthemembersofaspeechcommunitycommunicate,interact,andtransmittheirculture.”［3］Thisdefinitionisgiventoemphasizethatthefunctionoflanguageisnotonlyatoolofcommunicationbutalsoanimportantvehicleofculture.Solearningaforeignlanguageisaprocessofacquiringthelanguageanditscultureforcommunicatingpurpose.EnglishsyllabuscurrentlypointsoutthattheultimategoalofEnglishteachingistofosterstudents’interculturalcommunicativecompetence.Cultureisthecontentoflanguage;everylanguagereflectsitsownculture.People’slanguageshouldadapttothecontext.Whattosay,howtosayit,whentosayit,andtowhomtosayitarealldeterminedbytheunderlyingbeliefsandvalues.［4］AsWolfson(1983)noted,“Incommunicatingwithforeigners,nativespeakerstendtoberathertolerantoferrorsinpronunciationorsyntax.Incontrast,violationsofrulesofspeaking(pragmaticfailure)areofteninterpretedasbadmannerssincethenativespeakerisunlikelytobeawareofsociolinguisticrelativities.”［5］InthenewsyllabusforSeniorMiddleSchoolEnglish,itshowsthatstudentsofFull-timeSeniorMiddleSchoolEnglishnotonlyshouldgraspvocabularies,grammar,andpronunciation,butalsoproperlygrasptherelationshipbetweenlanguageteachingandcultureunderstanding.［6］Hence,weshouldcarryoutculturalteachinginmiddleschoolandimprovestudents’interculturalawareness.

Thepresentteachingmaterials

Nowadays,interculturalawarenessandinterculturalcommunicativecompetencehavebeenprescribedintotheNewEnglishCurriculumStandards.Thenewlyorganizedteachingmaterialsofjuniorandseniormiddleschoolinvolvesomewesternculture,forexample,greeting,westernfestivals,literature,music,bodylanguageandsoon.ThenculturebecomesanimportantpartofEnglishteaching.Itisunwise,inordertosavetime,onlytoteachEnglishwiththeneglectofculturalintroduction.BarriersinEnglishlearningsometimescomefromthelackofculturalknowledge.

Someteachershaveattributedtheirstudents’poorreadingandlisteningcomprehensiontolinguisticdeficiencies.Theybelievethatsolongastheirstudentsgraspthemeaningofeveryword,everysentence,andeverytextpassage,theywillhavenodifficultyincomprehendingthewholetext.Thisideaisnotcorrect.Englishreadingmaterialsinevitablyconveywesternculture.WhenweteachChristmasDayandThanksgivingDay,someculturalbackgroundknowledgeofthesefestivalscanhelpstudentsovercomeobstaclesinthetextandgrasplanguageknowledgebetter.Inaddition,manywords,inthetextbookofmiddleschool,haverelationswithculturalcontexts,suchas,old,name,dog,pork,beef,lookout,breakfast,andsomewordstoexpresscolors.Forexample,inthetextbook“blue”and“green”arenotonlythemeaningofcolors,eachhasitsimpliedmeanings.“Blue”inEnglishoftenassociateswithunhappyfeelings,“inabluemood”or“havingtheblues”expressesasad,gloomyordepressedmood.“AblueMonday”(thefirstdayofweek-workorschoolafterapleasant,happyweekend)hasthesimilarmeaning.Also,inEnglish,“green”isalsousedtoindicateapersonwholacksexperience,oranewcomerwhoisnotfamiliarwithlocalcustoms.Languageandcultureevolvetogetherandinteractwitheachother.AccordingtotheNewEnglishCurriculumStandards,inmiddleschool,teachersshouldnotneglecttheculturalfactorsexistinginEnglishteaching.Definitelytheinterculturalawarenesscan’tbeneglectedinEnglishteachingatmiddleschool.

3.ThecurrentsituationofinterculturalawarenesscultivationinmiddleschoolEnglishteaching

ChinahasnowbecomeaformalmemberofWTO,BeijingwillhosttheOlympicGamesin2008.What’smore，ourcountryhasbeentakingeffectivemeasurestofurthertheopeningupandreformpolicies.Consequently,moreandmorecooperativeandexchangeprogramswillbeheldbetweenChinaandforeigncountries.Thereshouldbemorestudentswithinterculturalcompetencetomeetthisneed.It’snecessarytocommunicatewithpeoplefromdifferentculturalbackgrounds.ButwhatistheresultofEnglishteachinginourmiddleschools?Despitethegreatamountoftime，energy,andmoneyspentonEnglishteaching,itisraretofindaChinesemiddleschoolstudentwhoisabletocommunicatewithwesternerssuccessfullyaftersixyearsofEnglishlearning.Infact,learningaforeignlanguagewellmeansmorethanmerelymasteringthepronunciation,grammar,wordsandidioms.Italsomeanslearningtoseetheworldasthenativespeakersdo.［7］Therefore,languageandcultureshouldbetaughtatthesometime.However,therearemanyproblemsininterculturalawarenesscultivationinmiddleschool.

Teachers’attitude

Nowadays,mostmiddleschoolEnglishteachersstillfollowthetraditionalgrammar-translationmethod;theyneglectculturalteachinginEnglishteaching.TheNewCurriculumStandardsemphasizesthenecessityofdevelopingstudents’interculturalcompetence.However,atpresent,intheseniormiddleschoolthecollegeentranceexaminationstillseriouslyaffectteachers’teachingidea.It’smostvaluedbystudents,teachersaswellastheauthorities.Inordertohelpstudentsscorehighonlinguisticproficiency,teacherspayalotoftimetoexplainvocabularyandgrammarknowledgeintheclass.Inthiscase,studentshaveimprovedtheirlanguageknowledge,buttheirinterculturalcommunicativecompetencehasnotenhanced.Infact,ithasviolatedEnglishteachinggoalandtheeducationforall-arounddevelopmentprinciple.Mr.WinstonBareback，theforeignlanguageteachingexpertoftheUSAindicated,teachinglanguagewithoutcultureisthebestwaytocultivateafoolwithfluentspokenlanguage.［8］Obviously,itsconsequenceisserious.What’smore,someteachersregardculturalteachingastheirextraburden.Theyarenotsoexperiencedincultureinstructionandnotsoconfidenttoactasguides.Meanwhile,theydon’thaveadesiretogoonstudying;theyprefertolettheirstudentstolearnculturalknowledgeallbythemselves.Underthiscircumstance,interculturalawarenesscultivationcannotachievetheidealeffect.

Students’motivation

Motivationreferstofactorsthatdetermineaperson’sdesiretodosomething.Thereisageneralassumptionthatstudents,wholearnEnglishinordertofacilitatecommunicationwithnativeEnglish-speaker,arethemoststronglymotivated.However,mostmiddleschoolstudentsinChinalearnEnglishjustforthepurposeofpassingexams;thus,theydonothaveastrongdesiretocommunicatewithpeopleofthetargetlanguage.Soit’snotdifficulttounderstandthattheyshowlittleinterestinEnglishculturalknowledge,butindulgethemselvesingrammarlearningandvocabularybuilding.Althoughmajorityofstudentsareinterestedinthewesternculture,theyrelyontheteacherexcessivelyandfailtosearchfordeepunderstandingbythemselves.

Students’poorinterculturalcommunicativecompetence

Thoughsometeachersattachimportancetoimprovingstudents’languagecompetence,especiallytheirreadingskill,theyignorethedifferencesofculturesinteachingEnglish.Consequently,theyfailtoprovidethestudentswithanintroductionofcultureofEnglish-speakingcountrieswhichleadtothestudents’“communicationblock”.Kramsch’skeenobservationshouldnotbeunnoticed:

“Cultureinlanguagelearningisnotanexpendablefifthskill,tackedon,sotospeak,totheteachingofspeaking,listening,reading,andwriting.Itisalwaysinthebackground,rightfromdayone,readytounsettlethegoodlanguagelearnerswhentheyexpectitleast,makingevidentthelimitationsoftheirhard-woncommunicativecompetence,challengingtheirabilitytomakesenseoftheworldaroundthem.”［9］

Thefollowingexamplesshowtheresultofstudents’lackingculturalknowledge:

(1)BothChineseandEnglishhavemanyidioms,butinmiddleschool,Englishteachersseldomintroducethisrespect.Consequently,studentsusuallytranslateidiomswithliteralmeaningwhichcausemanymisunderstandings.Forexample,whenstudentswanttodescribe:“运动会上运动员“个个生龙活虎”,theymaysay:Theathletesonthesportsgroundareallaslivelyasdragonsandtigers.InChinese“dragon”isthesymbolof“power”and“fullofenergy”,whileinWesterncountryitshows“disaster”and“evil”.Ifyoudescribeapersonasadragon,itmeansthepersonisaDevil.Sohereit’smoresuitabletosay:Theathletesarefullofvimandvigor.InChinese“dog”isusuallyusedinaderogatorysensesuchas“走狗”，“狗仗人势”.ButinEnglish,ithascommendatorysense,“luckydog”means“luckyperson”,“aJollydog”means“ahappyman”.

(2)Thentakeaconversationasanotherexample:

Student:(eagertostrikeupaconversationandcompliment)

Sir,youlookverymuchlikethepopstarBillyJoel.

Teacher:(flaringupwithwide-openeyes)

Nonsense!Idon’tlooklikehim.

QuitealotofChinesestudentswillfeelconfusedonhearingsuchaconversation.“Whytheteacherbecomessoangryatthispolitecompliment?”Isthereanylinguisticincompetencerevealedinthestudent’sinaccuratepronunciationorgrammaticalmistakes?Theansweris“No.”Insteadofgrammaticalerrors,thestudenthasmadeapragmaticfailure.ThereisamajordifferencebetweenChinesepeopleandEnglish-speakingpeopleinhowtocomplimentothers.ForaChinese,beinglikenedbyotherstoafilmstarorafamoussingercanbetakenasacompliment.ButtheEnglish-speakingpeoplebelievethatindividualidentityprevailsoverinterpersonalsimilarity.ThestudentintheaboveexampletransfershisChineseexpressionofcomplimentintoEnglish,thusarousingtheteacher’sanger.Andthisiswhywesaytheignoranceofthetargetlanguagecultureisgreathandicapsintheacquisitionofthatlanguage.

(3)Nowlet’slookatastudent’swriting.Moreover,whenmiddleschoolstudentswriteanEnglishthesis,theyfrequentlyuseChinesethinkingmodetoexpress.

Ifstudentswereaskedtowriteacompositionon“MyParentsandI”,manystudentsmaybeginlikethis：Mostparentslovetheirchildren.Theytakegoodcareoftheirchildren.Theycareabouttheirstudiesandwouldliketodoalltheycantohelpthem.Someparentslovetheirchildrentoomuchandallowthemtodoanythingtheylike.Someparentsarestrictwiththeirchildren.Myparentslovemebutarestrictwithme...”

Infact,“thedifferencebetweentheChineseandwesternmodesofthinkingplaysanimportantpartinwriting.Chineseareaccustomedtothinkinginaspiralway,whileEnglishandAmericansinalinearway.Thisdifferenceinthinkingoftenleadstomisunderstanding.”［10］Inwriting,Chinesestudentsliketoexplainmanythingsatfirst,finallycometothesubject.Sometimesastudent’scompositionisperfectintermsofgrammarandlogic.Butwhenaforeignerreaditheorshemaybeconfused.TheymaythinkthatthesubjectofChinesestudent’sthesisisunclear.Becausewhentheyarewritingtheyliketo“comestraighttothepoint”.

Generallyspeaking,thecurrentsituationofinterculturalawarenesscultivationinmiddleschoolisstillfarfrombeingsatisfactory.Moststudentsareshortoftheculturalsensitivityandlackinterculturalcommunicativeability.Inthiscondition,theyareunabletomeettheneedsofthepoliticalandeconomicdevelopmentofthecountry.

4.Cultivatingstudents’interculturalawarenessinmiddleschoolEnglishteaching

Principlesofinterculturalawarenesscultivation

Justknowingtheroleofculturalknowledgeisnotenoughtoimprovestudents’communicativecompetence.Thekeyproblemsareconcernedwiththecontentandapproachofinterculturalawarenesscultivation,thatis,howtoachievetheimprovement.Thusweshouldfollowtheseprincipleswhileconductingculturalteachinginmiddleschools:(1)ThePrincipleofgrading;(2)ThePrincipleofadaptability;(3)ThePrincipleofPracticability［11］

Theprincipleofgrading

GradingprinciplemeanstheEnglishculturalcontentshouldbeselectedandtaughtstepbystepaccordingtostudents’languagelevelsandability.Theculturalinformationcannotexceedstudents’comprehensiveability.

2Theprincipleofadaptability

Infact,Englishcultureissoextensiveinnotionthatweareunabletocovereverythingaboutinmiddleschooltime.Adaptabilitymeanswhentheteacheranalyzesthetexts,someculturalknowledgeinformationwhichisrelatedtothetextshouldbeintroduced.Atpresent,teachersinthemiddleschoolareusedtospendingmuchtimeinvocabulary,grammarandsentencestructure.Sotheculturalacquaintingislimitedandeveneliminated.Toovercomethisproblem,teacherscanencouragestudentstoreadafterclass.

3.Theprincipleofpracticability

Primarily,accordingtothedemandsoftheprinciplepracticability,theacquaintedculturalcontextsmustbecloselyconnectedwiththelanguagecontentsandcanbeusedinstudents’dailycommunication.Soitcanexcitestudents’interesttolearnEnglishculture.

Contentsofinterculturalawarenesscultivation

AccordingtoSternculturalteachingshouldincludesixmainaspects:(1)Places;(2)individualpersonandwayoflife;(3)Peopleandsocietyingeneral(4)History;(5)institution;(6)art,music,literatureandothermajorachievements.［12］

Contentsofinterculturalawarenesscultivationrefertoallaspectsofculture,butwhatshouldweteachinmiddleschool?Middleschoolstudentsareataspecialageperiod.Atthisstage,itishardforthemtotellwhatisgoodandwhatisbad.What’smore,theydon’thaveenoughtime,soitisimpossibleforthemtolearnalltheculturesofEnglish-speakingcountries.AccordingtotheNewEnglishCurriculumStandardsformiddleschoolandtheanalysisofthemiddleschoolEnglishtextbooks,thewriteradvisesthatthecontentsofinterculturalawarenesscultivationinmiddleschoolshouldfocusonthefollowingaspects:

Waysofaddressing

InmiddleschoolEnglishclassusuallybeginwith“Goodmorning,teacher.”Infact,thisisChineseformofaddressbyusingofaperson’stitle,office,oroccupation,suchas黄局长，林经理，马校长.ButEnglishnativespeakersseldomaddressotherslikethis.ThemostfrequentlyusedtitlesareMr.(foradultmales),Mrs.(formarriedwomen),Miss(forunmarriedwomen),Ms(forwomenwhosemaritalstatusareunknownorisnotindicated).Therearesomelessfrequentlyusedtitlessuchaspresident,primeminister,governor,mayor,doctor,judge,lawyer,andprofessor.［13］Sowe’dbettersay“goodmorning,Sir/MadamorGoodmorning,Mr./Mrs.Wang”.Injuniormiddleschool,studentscanlearnalotaboutEnglishnames.AlotofEnglishpeoplehavethreenames:afirstname,amiddlename,andalastname.Theirfamilynamecomeslast.Theydonotusetheirmiddlenameoften.So“JohnHenryBrown”isusually“JohnBrown”.PeopledonotuseMr.,Mrs.,MsorMissbeforetheirfirstname.Theyusethemwiththeirfamilyname.Sowecansay“JohnBrown”or“Mr.Brown”,butwecanneversay“Mr.John”.InChina,weoftenaddressmembersofourfamily,relativesorcloseneighborsas“二哥、三姐、四婶、周大伯”whichshouldnotbecarriedoverintoEnglish.InEnglish,thenamealonewouldbeenough.ItshouldbementionedthatinEnglish“Uncle”and“Auntie”orsomethinglikethatshouldbefollowedbyagivenname,notafamilyname.Forexample,UncleTomandAuntMary.Therefore,“UncleWang”isawayofChinesethinkingstyleinEnglish.

Greeting

Ineverydaylife,peoplealwaysgreeteachotherwhentheymeetpeoplecomingfromdifferentculturalbackgrounds.Propergreetingsaresuretobeagoodbeginningofacommunication,andtheycanhelpusbuildupagoodsocialrelationship.ThefirstlessonofJEFCoftendealswithhowtogreet.Thatis,“Goodmorning!”or“hello/Hi!”whenmeetinginthemorning,insteadofChinesesaying”“Haveyouhadbreakfastyet?”Forwesternerthegreetingmightmeanthis:“Ihaven’teither.Comeon,let‘sgotogetherandgetsomethingtoeat.”oritcouldindicateaninvitationtoameal.WhenweChinesemeetforthefirsttime,thereisnospecialexpressionfortheoccasion.ButasformostEnglish-speakingpeople,whentheymeetforthefirsttime,theyoftensaysomethinglike“Howdoyoudo?”and“Nicetomeetyou.”Andwhentheypart,theyareexpectedtoremark:“It’snicemeetingyou.”or“Verynicetalkingwithyou.”orsomethingsimilar.

Complimentsandthanks

ItisquitecommonforpeopletoexchangecomplimentsinEnglishspeakingcountriesandinChina.However,thereareculturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesecomplimentsandresponses.InmiddleschoolEnglishteachingofdailyconversations,complimentsandtheirresponsesdeservetobestudied.

Culturaldifferencesarealsoevidentinthewaysofrespondingtoothers’complimentsandgratitude.ItisnotedthatpeoplefromEnglish-speakingcountriestendtoverbalizetheirgratitudeandcomplimentsmorethanChinesespeakersandthattheytendtoacceptthanksandcomplimentsmorethanChinese.WhenChinesepeoplehearcomplimentslike“Youaresobeautiful.”or“YouspeakexcellentEnglish.”Theymayfeelembarrassedandwouldsay“No,no”todeclinetheexpressionofgratitude.However,anativeEnglishspeakerwillacceptthecomplementbygivingpositiveresponselike“Thankyou”or“I’mgladtohearthat”.Tothem,acceptingcomplimentsisnotanexpressionofprideorimpoliteness;it’salmostdishonesttodenyanexpressionofsentiment

What‘smore,“Thankyou”isusedmorewidelyinEnglish-speakingcountriesthaninChinaevenbetweenmembersofthefamily,evenforminorfavorslikeborrowingapencil,askingdirections,passinganapple,etc.InJEFC,wecanfindthisdialogue:

HanMei:Goodevening,LucyandLily.

Twins:Thanksforaskingus.

HanMei:Wouldyoulikeamoon-cake?

Lucy:Yes，thankyou.

HanMei:Wouldyoulikeanotherone?

Lucy:MayI?Yes,Thanks.

HanMei:Howaboutanotherone?

Lucy:Ohno,Thankyou.

Fromtheexampleabove,wecanknowhowoftenEnglish-speakingpeoplesay“thanks”.Onthecontrary,inChina,suchpoliteexpressionsareoftenomitted,especiallyamongclosefriendsandfamilymembers.ManyChineseoftenregardthefrequentuseof“thankyou”byEnglish-speakingpeopleunnecessaryandeventiresome.

.Privacyandtaboos

Somewordsorexpressionsaretobeavoidedbecauseofthetraditionorsocialcustom.Andthetopicstalkedaboutmustbecarefullychosentosuitthespeakersandthesetting.Thismaynotbeeasytodoeveninone’smothertongue，andthereforeinaforeignlanguageitcanbeevenmoredifficult.ItisimportanttoconsiderculturalfactorsinmiddleschoolEnglishconversations.Instudent’sbook,thereisadialoguebetweenMeimeiandMrs.Green:

Meimei:Hello!What‘syourname?

Mrs.Green:MynameisMrs.Green.

Meimei:Howoldareyou?

Mrs.Green:Ah.It‘sasecret.

Englishpeopleplaceahighvalueonprivacy.TomostBritishandAmericans,ageisoneofthethingsbeingconsideredimpropertoaskofastrangerespeciallyalady.Besidesage,one’sincome,maritalstatus,politicalattitudeandreligionarealsoconsideredasprivaciesinEnglishculture.SoinmiddleschoolEnglishteachingweshouldguidethestudentstoavoidthefollowingtopicswhentalkwithwesterners:

“Howoldareyou?”“Howmuchdoyouearn?”“Areyoumarriedorsingle?”“Whatisyourreligion?”“Howmuchdidthatdresscostyou?”“Howmanychildrendoyouhave?”

Miscellaneoussocialamenities

(i)Theterm“please”

TheEnglishterm“please”isusuallyregardedasequivalentto“请”inChinese.However,theyarenotusedinexactlythesameway.Whenaskinganotherpersontoentertheroomortogetinacarfirst,thenormalexpressionis“Afteryou”ratherthan““Yougofirst,please”.And“Helpyourself”iscustomarywhenurgingsomeonetostarteating,ortotakemoreofthefood.［14］BothChineseandEnglishhaveexpressionsforapologiesandremarksprecedingarequest,forexample,thereare“对不起，请……”and“Excuseme,please...”Onthewhole,theyarequitesimilar.However,therearecertaindifferencesevenamongthese.“Excuseme.”isageneraltermprecedingarequestorinterruption.InChinese,however,therearedifferentterms:“劳驾”whenaskingafavororrequestingapersontodosomething;“借光”and“请让一让”,whenaskingapersontostepasideormakeroom;“请问”Whenaskingforinformationormakingaquery.Ifnotknowingthisdistinctionsstudentstendtouse“对不起”forallsuchsituations.Thenmistakeswilloccur.Forexample:

A:Wouldyouliketogototheflowershow?

B:Excuseme,butI’mnotfree

Herewe’dbetterhavestudentsknowthatforrefusaltoinvitation,“I’dloveto,but…”isproper.

(ii)Giftgivingandresponses

Giftgivingisveryimportantinourdailylife.Itisnecessarytointroducesomeknowledgeaboutgiftgivinginwesterncountrytomiddle-schoolstudents.PeopleinEnglishspeakingcountriesgivegiftsonanumberofoccasions:atChristmasandotherimportantholidays,atweddings,onbirthdays,onavisittoafriendsandsoon.However,theynormallygiveonlysmallgifts(acard,abunchofflowers,orabottleofwine)togoodfriends.Giftsfromcasualacquaintanceorexpensivegiftswillmakethemuncomfortable,fortheywillnotknowhowtoreturnthekindness.Whentheyreceiveagift,theyalwaysunwrapitinthegiver’spresenceandsayafewgoodwordsaboutit,inordertoletthegiverknowthathisorhergiftisappreciated.［15］

Approachesofinterculturalawarenesscultivation

TeachingEnglishisalsoteachingEnglishculture.Theimportanceofteachingculturehasbeendiscussedalotandwidelyrecognized.NowhowtocultivateinterculturalawarenessinmiddleschoolisalsoaproblemallEnglishteachersconfront.Thewritersuggeststhefollowingapproaches.

Interculturalawarenesscultivationinclassroom

Classroomsaremiddleschoolstudents’mainstudyplaces,sohowtocarryoutinterculturalawarenesscultivationeffectivelyinanEnglishclassroomisvitaltotheteaching.

(i)Roleplay

Role-playisafrequentlyadoptedclassroomitem,whichinvolvesthestudentsinsimulatedinterculturalcommunicationsituationsindailylifesuchasgreetings,telephonetalk,andconcern-expressing,present-givingandsoon.Itarousesstudents‘greatinterestinclassroominteraction.Itdoesnotonlyhelpthestudentsunderstandculturaldifferences,experienceforeignculture,butalsoprovidesopportunitiesfororalcommunication.ItisverypopularwithEnglishbeginner.［16］